Russell Reynolds Associates Appoints Global Aviation, Aerospace and Defense Practice Leader

April 15, 2021 – Russell Reynolds Associates has named Jackie Arends as a consultant and global leader for the firm’s aviation, aerospace and defense practice. Based in Washington, D.C., she works closely with C-suite leaders and board directors at the intersection of politics, government and industry. “In addition to her deep executive search experience, Jackie’s impressive background includes serving as a direct advisor to sitting presidents of the United States,” said Constantine Alexandrakis, leader of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Americas region. “As we help clients accelerate the realignment of their C-suites to successfully navigate a volatile business environment, Jackie’s experience advising senior leaders across complex global organizations and government agencies will be highly additive.”

Ms. Arends joins Russell Reynolds Associates from Spencer Stuart, where she spent the last 17 years as a partner and consultant. During her tenure, she founded and led the firm’s government relations practice and led its aerospace and defense practice globally. Prior to this, she worked in the White House and in the United States Department of Defense, having served two U.S. Presidents and two Secretaries of Defense.  Ms. Arends has been the recipient of both the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service and the Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award. She began her career practicing law for private firms and lobbying groups.

Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory and search firm. Its 425-plus consultants in 46 offices work with public, private and non-profit organizations across all industries and regions.

Recent Growth

In January, Russell Reynolds named Matthew Lewis as a consultant and country manager for the Dubai office. In this role, he is responsible for enhancing and growing the firm’s presence in the Middle East. “With over two decades of experience advising boards and CEOs at the world’s leading companies, Matthew is uniquely suited to help lead our firm’s efforts in the United Arab Emirates and wider Middle East Region,” said​ Matthias Oberholzer, regional head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Russell Reynolds Associates. “Demand for our firm’s servi​ces in this region continues to grow, and Matthew’s expertise advising companies in regard to their overall talent strategy, particularly with respect to leadership assessment, succession planning and the recruitment of CEOs and directors, will allow us to augment an already strong team in Dubai.”

Russell Reynolds Associates and Hogan Assessments, a global provider of personality assessment and leadership development, have expanded their partnership with a new initiative to increase the effectiveness and versatility of C-suite leadership teams. “The complexity and pace of change in today’s environment requires C-suite leadership teams to act with purpose, vision and speed,” said Clarke Murphy, CEO of Russell Reynolds Associates. “Too often, though, teams at the top are not teams at all. Ineffective C-suite teams create a cascade of confusion for their organizations and are often paralyzed by sudden shifts in their environments.”

The expanded partnership builds upon the firms’ well-established partnership to drive C-suite performance, combining Russell Reynolds Associates’ depth of expertise in advising CEOs, C-suites and boards on their leadership challenges with Hogan’s suite of assessment instruments, data assets and scientific acumen. The firms will work together to create a new diagnostic approach to designing, aligning and accelerating C-suite team performance and readiness to lead across a range of future business scenarios. Russell Reynolds and Hogan first partnered in 2016 when they joined forces in an effort to increase the success rate of executive appointments and accelerate the development of rising leaders.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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